In September of 2023, ELHS counselor Haley Stites’ life was changed forever. Ms. Stites was shockingly diagnosed with type one diabetes. As symptoms grew, Ms. Stites eventually ended up in the ER, days before going into a diabetic coma. A week after her diagnosis, and with lots of diabetic education, Ms. Stites was able to go home.
“When I got home, I went into survival mode. I was very particular about everything as it was still pretty shocking. It lasted for about five months until it settled in that this is what the rest of my life will be like,” Stites said.
After a few months of her new diagnosis, Ms. Stites began to adjust to her new life. With many doctor visits, a huge support system, and getting used to having to track the amount of grams in food, Ms. Stites used trial and error to “be her own pancreas.”
Right after her diagnosis, however, as already big dog people, Ms. Stites and her mom (dad on board, of course) wanted to look into getting a service dog. The process for her now service dog, Piper, was long, but worth it.
Ms. Stites filled out an application a month after she was diagnosed and went through a program based in Las Vegas. About a year after she applied, she was matched with Piper.
“Piper alerts based on the scent of my breath and she is trained to alert me if my blood sugar goes 80 milligrams per deciliter or lower, or 150 milligrams per deciliter and higher. To alert me, if I’m standing, she’ll jump on me once and then sit and hit me with her paw. If I’m sitting, she usually sits next to me and then starts hitting my leg with her paw. If I’m laying down, like if I’m in bed, she jumps up on the bed on top of me and hits me with her paw,” Ms. Stites said.
So far, Stites has had Piper for a year now. Piper is an excellent addition to A200, loving to do her job at school but also knowing she can be a dog when she gets home (while alerting Ms. Stites when she needs it).
